Sophie Goupil

Marius Petipa, le maître français du ballet russe

When he arrives in Saint Petersburg, at the age of 29, Marius Petipa is just an obscure dancer who fled western Europe to escape his debts. He is far from imagining that his engagement in the troupe of the Russian Imperial Ballet, then rather mediocre, will reveal him, forty years later, as one of the greatest choreographers in the history of dance. It is within the Bolshoi Kamenny theaters, then Mariinsky, in a still provincial capital where three productions a year are enough to satisfy an undemanding audience, that this native of Marseille will invent a new art of ballet, over the course of sixty of creations, between 1862 (La fille du pharaon) and 1895 (Le lac des cygnes).

Velázquez – Wild Realism

He was ceaselessly in search of the human truth through the treatment of the light and the space and in the way he roams around things. His work full of boldness marks an essential stage in the history of paint.

Gustave Courbet, the Origins of His World

Gustave Courbet defied the conventions of classical French painting to become an innovator of Realism. This documentary by filmmaker Romain Goupil explores Courbet's life and work, revealing the fiery spirit that drove him to lead rather than follow.

Moving In

"A man stands amid unpacked boxes in his new home, delivering an extended monologue on indecision and dislocation. This rarely seen, overlooked gem created by Akerman for television explores the quotidian crises and profound feelings of alienation that run through her work." - BAM